kili in the clouds

Here ya go John, Kilimanjaro from Arusha National Park

my new career

Well, I’ve found my fallback career.  If the nurse thing doesn’t work out in the future, I think I may try being a safari driver.  

Ok, not really.  But I did it for a day and it was pretty fun.  Arusha National Park is about 30 minutes from my house and has a lot of game viewing opportunities as well as hiking safaris.  This past Saturday my roommates and I, along with an out of town guest, decided to go hiking on part of Mt Meru in Arusha Nat’l Park.  The only problem was that the hike we wanted to do required a 4x4 vehicle, with capabilities beyond what our little RAV4 could offer, to get to the starting point of the hike.  So we borrowed a Land Cruiser and were off for a fun day of hiking.  I ended up in the driver’s seat and found that I really quite enjoyed myself.  Once we got into the park and made our way to the ranger station to pick up our armed guide/guard to hike with us (a requirement for hiking in this particular area where wildlife is present) the sky started to look a little grey.  We were not deterred.  After crossing a small river and engaging the 4 wheel drive for the first time we made the ascent up the winding dirt road to the starting point of the hike.  Just about the time we reached our destination the skies opened up.  After deciding that waiting it out was not the best option we very slowly made the descent down the steep, winding dirt road along with the water that was now rushing down the mountain.  We made it safely to the bottom about the same time the rain lightened up.  We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around the park looking for wildlife and got a great view of Kilimanjaro as the clouds broke.  So the day wasn’t a complete bust, and I got some good 4x4 experience!  

We'll give it another shot on another day, maybe after the rainy season passes . . .   

Happy Presidents Day!

Presidents' day has never been one of those holidays that really held special meaning or memories for me. However, today that changed. Today I saw my president on presidents day . . . ok, I almost saw him. I saw his vehicle as it passed by, the dark tinted windows make it pretty impossible to see inside. Bush visited Atlanta multiple times while I lived there and I hardly noticed, sometimes I would see it on the news after the fact. That was definitely not the case here in Arusha today. Many roads throughout town were closed for portions of the day, some schools were closed, a lot of people didn't go to work, American and Tanzanian flags were put up at strategic points around town. There was really no way to miss it. The road to town from the airport happens to be the road that I live on and the road where my office is located so I got to see the motorcade coming and going (it was kind of like a parade with people lining the street and waving little flags). It may not seem like a lot to you, but it was quite a bit of excitement for the town of Arusha (and a couple of American girls living in Arusha).
Hope you have a great Presidents' Day too!

the latest

I know I have been absent from this site for a while, long enough that I don't really know where to begin to fill you in on the last month. But here are some of the highlights:

• I celebrated Christmas and the New Year with my friends and "family" here (someone even filled a stocking for me on Christmas morning)
• I was more homesick than I ever thought possible (its getting better now)
• I went on safari the week after Christmas to Arusha National Park (where parts of the film Hatari! was filmed)
• I celebrated my 30th birthday with a series of parties and events planned by my roommates, friends and coworkers. I even had two homemade birthday cakes!
• I taught two sections of the current HIV training course: Caring for an unconscious or bedridden patient and Basic first aid and wound care
• My roommates and I cut out and laminated hundreds of pictures for the 18 students in the HIV course to take home a teaching set to do seminars in churches and schools in their communities
• I've travelled to several different villages, once to visit HIV patients, once to take pictures of sponsored children to send back to America, and once to observe the fieldwork portion of our HIV training course
• One of the HIV+ people I visited was newly diagnosed and had a CD4 count of 17, normal is 500-1500! This means he has practically no immune system left and even taking antiretroviral medication at this stage may not help. (This is a great reminder of the importance early testing and counseling)
• I've seen Mt Kilimanjaro from three different sides in the past two weeks, and yes, it looks very different from each angle
• We have a mouse in our house that seems to have super powers and a taste for dried fruit and nuts. (He's learned to avoid all the traps our landlord put out and can climb walls and tables. Any suggestions?)

A few people have asked about the child with hydrocephalus I wrote about before, here's the latest update: he is a good candidate for surgery, it will just have to be done in Dar es Salaam (10+ hour bus ride from where he lives). Pray that logistics and funding will be worked out in a timely manner for this surgery to happen.

I've added some new pictures to my picasa page, just click the picture link on the left.

pray for Kenya today

I don't know how much of the news from Kenya is making it to the states, if you are not yet aware of the current state of affairs do a short internet news search. The political state is quite volitile following the recent election. A friend of mine is currently living and working in Kenya and has written a great blog about what it feels like to be in the midst of it all. Please check it out, and please pray. http://everydaygrace-alida.blogspot.com Today is a crucial day as there have been many rallies planned all over the country. I'm told the tension in the air is palpable.

ps I am in no danger here in Arusha

what day is it again?

Is it really only three days until Christmas? It seems impossible to me. It seems as though everytime I look at the calendar I am suprised again to see that it actually is December. I don't have any of the normal external cues to tell me that Christmas is approaching. I don't have the cold weather (although I hear in Atlanta its been above 70), I don't see Christmas lights on houses, I don't hear Christmas music every time I turn on the radio, and I haven't even put any decorations up at my own house (they are a bit hard to come by here). I will say that I'm glad to be away from some of the craziness of the holiday season but the truth is that I miss parts of it too. Its fun to see the lights, and to go shopping for presents to give to family and friends. And all that good traditional holiday food! That I will definitely miss! What I will miss the most is spending time with family. Earlier this week I made gingerbread cookies and that helped me to get into the holiday spirit but its still not the same. To me it still feels like Christmas in July. Maybe that's a good thing though . . . I pray that this year I will experience Christmas in a new way. Without all the other busyness going on around me I will be able to focus on the real reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place.

Saying goodbye

There are so many things that I wanted to blog about from the past two weeks, I wanted to tell you about the special perspective I gained celebrating Thanksgiving in Africa; I wanted to give you an update on the child with hydrocephalus I wrote about in my last entry; I wanted to tell you how much fun I had last week in a village playing with the children, practicing my Swahili and working with other Imara staff and local volunteers as we did HIV testing; I wanted to remind you that December 1st was World AIDS Day and encourage you to find a way to get involved in the fight against AIDS . . . but today I am writing for another reason. Today I am mourning the loss of my dear Granddaddy, who passed from this earth last Wednesday. I am sad and grieving that I will never again see him here on earth or be embraced in one of his big bear hugs but I am rejoicing and so thankful that he is now at his Father's side and he is free from pain and suffering.

Before leaving home this year, somehow I knew that I was saying goodbye to him for the last time. There were so many reasons for me not to go when I did, this circumstance being one of them. However, the more I prayed and sought wisdom about it, the more assurance I had that it was God's plan for me to go to Tanzania at that time. It was a strange feeling to have that certainty yet be heart broken at the same time about what I was giving up by leaving. I was blessed to have a chance to spend time with my grandfather in the weeks before I left and I got to tell him how much I loved him and hear him tell me the same. That special time with him was truly a gift. I even got to speak to him on the phone on Thanksgiving Day, less than a week before he died. Even though his voice was just a whisper, I got to hear him say one more time "How's my little girl?" and I got to tell him I loved him.

So I have asked myself should I have stayed home for a couple months longer? Did I make a mistake coming to Africa when I did? No, and here's why.

Last week I spent several days in a village called Mwika, which I have come to love. There is a high incidence of HIV in this community and consequently, many children orphaned because of AIDS. Its always fun to go and just spend time with the children but this trip was also to do additional HIV testing and counseling with others in the community who do not know their status. The few days we spent there were long and busy, I was able to work with my hands and work directly with people (something I miss doing on a regular basis). One afternoon there was a lull in activity as most people there had already been tested and were waiting to be called into a room for counseling. Since my language skills are far from being proficient enough for counseling sessions I was outside playing with the children. As I was thinking back on the events of the day and having so much fun with the children playing games and learning new Swahili words from all my little teachers I remember thinking to myself "this is why I'm here, this is what brings me joy and brings honor and glory to God."

Friday afternoon, upon returning to the city and reading my email I learned the news of my grandfather's passing. Later that day as I was crying and thinking and processing things I realized that the day he passed was that same day that God gave me that confirmation that I'm supposed to be here right now, doing what I'm doing.

All this is not to say that I'm glad to be here in Tanzania instead of at home with my family because that is certainly not the case. I miss them tremendously right now, and I long to be with them. I want to hug my grandmother, my mom and the rest of my family. I want to be able to mourn and grieve with them. I am sad that I missed the funeral service on Saturday. But I know that God will sustain me during this time. He has called me here for a purpose and in doing that has also called me to make sacrifices. Because I know that the Lord is leading and guiding every step I know that he will also bring me through this time.

I would go into detail of what a great man my Granddaddy was; all the ways he served his family, church, and community; how he has inspired and encouraged so many people (probably without knowing it) but I wouldn't know where to stop. I will say this about him, he loved the people around him in his quiet and humble way and he was certainly well loved by all that knew him. He will be greatly missed by so many, especially me!